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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30131868">tangling its legs</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystaloregarden/pseuds/crystaloregarden'>crystaloregarden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>main verse - 2011 &amp; manga [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunter X Hunter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Gore, Character Death, Established Relationship, M/M, Not Canon Compliant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:34:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>814</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30131868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystaloregarden/pseuds/crystaloregarden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A brief look into Kortopi's thought process if he were to fight alongside Machi and Pakunoda during the conflict at Yorknew, and if he were to die at Feitan's hand as a result.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Feitan/Kortopi (Hunter X Hunter)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>main verse - 2011 &amp; manga [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113914</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>tangling its legs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He couldn’t believe this was happening.</p><p>Things weren’t supposed to be like this. Even with the rules the Spider had in place, Kortopi couldn’t fathom what could be going through Feitan’s head to make him so callous towards the loss of Troupe life. Chrollo and Pakunoda weren’t just some expendable cogs in their machine — those two were the reason the Spider even existed and were able to go on. If it were himself that needed to be sacrificed, it wouldn’t be nearly as bad, but…</p><p>Clearly, there was no getting through to Feitan or Phinks. They were fiercely protective of their interpretation of the Spider’s ideals, and surely, they had every right to be, given that they were its original members… but Kortopi was okay with being wrong. He’d endure any punishment that Chrollo imposed on him afterwards, but no more of the Spider’s legs would perish to the chain user on his ( or Machi’s ) watch, even if that meant having to comply with his hostage demands. He’d do anything if it meant keeping them safe.</p><p>Even if that meant fighting a battle he knew he was going to lose.</p><p>The fight that ensued between them was almost heartbreaking in its simplicity. Kortopi knew that Feitan enjoyed fighting, but he could tell right away that there was no comfort to be had from this one. The other Spider drew his sword and began his assault, his usual tactics and experimentalism falling away to all the brutal straightforwardness of a guillotine — no longer an intricate torture machine, but an axe, intending only to maim and disable. To his credit, he accomplished this well, for Kortopi simply couldn’t keep up with the other’s superior speed and feints, falling victim to one slash after another even as he used various bits of their surroundings to clone and block, and lashed out with brief flashes of Ko in an attempt to strike back. Even his near-inexhaustible supply of Nen was starting to falter in its ability to bounce him back, and the instant it slipped up was the very same moment he felt a flash of pure rage overtake Feitan, and the instinctual burst of fear Kortopi felt in response would swiftly prove to be the instigation of his downfall.</p><p>An involuntary gasp tore out of his windpipe as his lungs were wrenched open by the Nen-enforced sword, a ghastly sound that ensured there would be no doubt about what Feitan had just done. There was an agonizing several beats between the rupturing of the organ and his body going into shock, leaving him no choice but to experience the shooting of blood up his throat and the wave of internal bleeding that washed over his remaining organs, causing a series of involuntary spasms as he fell to the ground, utterly unable to regain control of any of his movements. He didn’t hear the chaotic rush of footsteps, or Pakunoda calling his name out in a panic.<br/>
  <br/>
Kortopi felt a profound sense of disbelief, for a moment, that Feitan would actually kill him over this, when his apparent goal had been to keep any more legs of the Spider from perishing. That feeling quickly dissolved, as did his ability to breathe as he lied there, his chest heaving sporadically as it continued to attempt the action nonetheless.<br/>
  <br/>
It had only been seconds after the rupture, but the smallest Spider was already fading away quickly, his impending death accelerated by his more severe injuries by and the inability to provide oxygen to his brain, a visceral river of blood pouring steadily from his mouth and matting his hair for all his efforts to do so. But, even then… with his vision going up in sparks and blind spots, a fragment of his consciousness registered, fleetingly, that he was being hoisted up slightly by a pair of arms, and eyes made an attempt at focusing on the blur of black and purple looming over his entire line of sight.<br/>
  <br/>
The instant he recognized Feitan, he felt everything fall away from him at once. The shock, the remainder of his last struggles of life, the memory of what had just transpired — all of it, gone in an instant. A profound sense of peace drained every last ounce of resistance from his body, and somehow, his arm managed to move, fingers feebly twitching as it fell in a way that allowed Kortopi to rest his hand on Feitan’s arm.<br/>
  <br/>
Dying in the arms of someone he cared about was the most generous thing he could’ve ever hoped for in his life, and if, by some miracle, he had been given a choice… it’s how Kortopi would have chosen to die.<br/>
  <br/>
And so, he did. As simply as he lived, he chose to die, leaving behind his small, broken form to weigh Feitan's arms down — a physical burden to match with the emotional.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this was originally a reply for one of my ship partners on tumblr rp, but i was going back over my replies and decided i like this one a lot, and that it could stand on its own as a bite-sized little thinkpiece and taste of my kortopi portrayal! if you want to see what this was a response to, go ahead and root around a bit on his tumblr blog - galleryfake - or feel free to just enjoy this as is! the feikoru was so faint here you could blink and miss it, but i'm the only one filling this tag, so hey - might as well!</p><p>thanks for reading! i'm over at @crystaloregrove on twitter if you wanna say hi, have a good one :&gt;</p></blockquote></div></div>
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